Browser firm takes on Microsoft
2007-12-14 15:01
Brussels - A small Norwegian maker of web
browsers, backed by an industry coalition, has filed the first
complaint against Microsoft to the European Commission since the
software giant lost a landmark antitrust case earlier this year.
Opera Software said it has complained that Microsoft
illegally ties its web browser, Internet Explorer, to its
dominant Windows operating system.
Microsoft is also "hindering interoperability by not
following accepted web standards", the company said.
Both make it difficult for Opera to compete, it said.
The complaint is the first against Microsoft since a September
17 EU Court of First Instance ruling upheld a 2004 landmark
European Commission decision against the company on antitrust
grounds.
Opera is a member of the European Committee for
Interoperable Systems (ECIS), a long-time opponent of Microsoft.
ECIS issued a statement critical of the software giant.
"By tying its Internet Explorer product to its monopoly
Windows operating system and refusing to faithfully implement
industry accepted open standards, Microsoft deprives consumers
of a real choice in Internet browsers", ECIS lawyer Thomas Vinje said in the statement.
Opera's complaint echoes a US case from 1998, in which the
US Justice Department won a major judgment against Microsoft
for competing illegally against another browser, Netscape.
Opera asked the Commission to force Microsoft to unbundle
Internet Explorer. It also asked the Commission to require
Microsoft to follow "fundamental and open web standards".